Glen Scotia 48yo
Glen Scotia Distillery has announced the release of its oldest whisky edition to date.
Glen Scotia 48yo, 40.8% vol., is a whisky that has spent 43 years in refill and first-fill bourbon barrels. It then went into a first-fill hogshead after oloroso sherry, where it matured for another 5 years. Its maturation process was completed with a 6-month maturation in a second-fill hogshead Pedro Ximénez sherry cask.
The whisky was not subjected to caramel coloring, and the barrel contents were enough to fill only 250 bottles. Each is offered in a decorative oak box, inspired by the Spanish Azulejo tile pattern once used in Seville's bodegas. The retail price of the new Glen Scotia edition has been set at £11,000.
In aroma Glen Scotia 48yo look for accents of Seville oranges, herbal notes and delicate spices, including nutmeg and cinnamon. The taste will include notes of caramel, orange marmalade, red apples, raisins, and the long finish will bring echoes of brown sugar, apricots and peaches.
According to Iain McAlister, manager of Glen Scotia, what's intriguing about the new whisky is that different generations of distillery managers and their employees have repeatedly chosen to leave the whisky in barrels and continue its journey in different types of casks. However, the time has come for it to finally go into bottles, if only because of the declining alcohol content of the maturing liquor and the danger of going below the legal limit of 40% vol.
We have mentioned this phenomenon several times here, on the occasion of other editions of Scotch whisky, but it is worth recalling the iron rule of Scottish customs warehouses. As the whisky matures, it evaporates, so the volume of liquid stored in the barrels is systematically reduced. This phenomenon is romantically referred to as angels' share (angels' share), and guides giving tours of distilleries often mention "happy angels" hovering over the warehouses of Scotch whisky, with the happiness supposedly derived from the inhalation of alcohol fumes by these heavenly beings. In practice, these vapors contribute to the growth of the fungus Baudoinia compniacensis, living on walls and all kinds of objects near warehouses. This fungus causes an unpleasant, "smeared" appearance to anything it settles on and begins to grow. This is sometimes a real nuisance for homes adjacent to customs warehouse complexes.
In the conditions that prevail in Scottish bonded warehouses, alcohol evaporates faster than water, so as the volume of maturing whisky decreases, its strength also decreases steadily. In the case of maturation lasting several years, this is of little importance, but when the age of the whisky reaches several decades, its condition should be closely monitored for alcohol content. One of the conditions required by law for a beverage to be called "Scotch whisky" is an alcohol content of at least 40% by volume. Whisky left alone for 40 or more years may - but not necessarily - lose more alcohol, and thus lose the right to be called Scotch whisky. So it seems that in the case of Glen Scotia 48yo, which reached close to the limit power of 40.8% vol., the manufacturer could no longer afford to continue lying around. After all, it could be that in another few months he would no longer have a drop of liquor that he could call Scotch whisky. And only for old Scotch you can demand the amount of 11 thousand pounds per bottle.
The current offerings of the House of Whisky Online include a wide selection of whiskies from the Glen Scotia distillery. We invite you to visit, shop, and possibly follow our offerings while waiting for Glen Scotia 48yo to appear with us as well.
[14.08.2023 / Photo: Glen Scotia]